Thursday, August 30, 2007

It is a rare sight to see Malaysian national side to make it to the Final round in any soccer tournament nowadays. Nevertheless, that was the fact in latest edition of Merdeka Football Tournament.

On top of that, Malaysia, who fielded their U-23 side, came out as a 3 - 1 victor over Myanmar in the Final, and reclaimed the Merdeka Cup for the first time since 1993. Job well done, I guess.

Would this be a new beginning for the ailing Malaysian football? A new era? A revival? I would say it is still too early to say, and a lot more have to be done. It's best for the management and players alike not to get drifted away with the recent honor.

Wednesday, August 29, 2007

I only got to know about the event the night before. I left a message at Annna's, and she responded the next day, via SMS.

Thanks to her, I could go to the event. And as an token of appreciation, I promised her to take some of the photos of the talented Rynn Lin (林宇中). This fine lad is originated from Kuching. He was formerly a student in Kuching Town High School.

Tuesday, August 28, 2007

Updated: "Footballing world has just lost another talent. Sevilla's Spanish international midfielder Antonio Puerta died three days after collapsing in a La Liga match against Getafe. It was believed heart attack was the course of death. My condolence to the player's family and friends, and the fans. R.I.P. "

I just got this news from ESPN Sportscenter on TV just now. One of Manchester United's all-time fans' favorites has retired from football, after failing to recover from serious knee injury, of which has plagued most of his career in the latter stage.

Apparently, Solskjaer has failed to recovered from his long-term injury. He has had no choice but to retire this season, at the age of 34. With that, I believe, it would be a hit to Sir Alex as he is running short of options at the attacking front-line. With Wayne Rooney out injured, and suspension to Portuguese sensation Cristiano Ronaldo, Fergie has only got Argentine Carlos Tevez, being backed up by fitness-lacking Louis Saha, and unproven Chinese youngster Dong FangZhuo.

Back to Ole, he was also dubbed as baby-faced assassin by the media, much thanks to his evergreen appearance and his killer-instinct in front of goalmouth. He is mostly used off the bench by the manager, and with that he earned his reputation as the super super-sub for Manchester United. One of the best moments in his career with the England side, he scored the dramatic injury time-winner for Manchester United in Champions League Final-clash with Bayern Munich in 1999. That season, Manchester United went on to win a treble -- Premier League, FA Cup and Champions League.

As a Manchester United fan, I felt that I must do this post to pay a tribute to a player who had served the Red Devils well. Thank you Ole.